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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#57: Legacies

Everybody hopes they’ll be remembered. It’s a big part of why writers write, artists paint, and singers sing. It drives some to rise to great heights in politics or business. It’s part of why people have children.

But whether you hope to build a legacy through words, kind deeds, grand ambition, or a strong familial line, the truth is, we don’t always know how history will look back on us. All we can do is put our best selves forward, and hope that our integrity and values will resonate long after we’re gone.

This week’s prompts invite you to delve into people’s hopes for the future — and the legacies that may or may not be what they dreamed of.

This week's prompts

Write a humorous story about the descendant of someone remembered for an insignificant act.

Funny – 73 stories

Write a story about someone who’s famous for something they never actually did.

Character – 119 stories

Write a story about someone breaking a long family tradition.

Angst – 170 stories

Write a story about someone who travels to the future, and isn’t happy about how they’ve been remembered.

Science Fiction – 131 stories

Write a story that starts with someone writing their will — one they know people won’t like.

Dramatic – 183 stories

Stories

“Warrior” by K A

Submitted to Contest #57

The blood of a warrior resides within me. For generations, my ancestors have fought in wars to restore peace. Against those that sought to destroy their wealth, power, virtue, and leaving shards of it buried in the sand. There, in the Motherland, two tribes went to war against one another instead of standing beside each other. No unity, no harmony. These were the Tribes of the Sun and Moon. The Motherland is a vast area based at the heart of the equator. Here, the sun's rays blessed the earth and fuelled the civilians' livelihoods, the riche...

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“Dearly Beloved” by Marcia H.

Submitted to Contest #57

Dearly Beloved we are all here to celebrate this thing called life. By now you all know that I am dead and gone. If you don’t then please get up and leave because like my mama used to say, “You don’t have the sense you were born with.” So, buckle up loved ones, and I use the term loosely, because this is going to be a long bumpy ride into the last will and testament of me, Elsa Bell Harper. First of all, I have requested that my will be read on a Sunday because I know that all you church going family members will be dressed in your Sun...

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“The Call” by Bill Brooks

Submitted to Contest #57

55-year-old Daniel Blythe, one-time owner and CEO of a Canadian potable water company called Aqua Relief, which he had started with the help of his wife and two sons back on Earth, sat in a yoga position in the center of his transparent isolation pod on the surface of Mars. He pulled his personal Earthlink communicator from the large pocket of his robe and flipped it on. A glowing blue screen appeared in space some ten feet in front of him, nearly touching the wall of his small octagonal enclosure. Roughly fifty inches across and...

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“Your Compliment Offends Me” by Joshua Scott Hotchkin Wordpress.dungherder.com

Submitted to Contest #57

The following is an excerpt from an article which originally appeared at Shiptoast.com titled 'How An App Broke the Traditional Family' dated 11/17/2076. ...all of these factors were already contributing to a rapid evolution in human breeding and interpersonal habits, it was a simple app that began the final unraveling of the traditional family that began with our prehuman ancestors. Romander (romance reminder) was released at the tail end of 2020, which had already been a turbulent year for numerous reasons, and was ava...

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“The Turnaround” by Onur Yürür

Submitted to Contest #57

Cheers rose up from the small crowd. All in black t-shirts and jeans, six men were sitting in a café right next to the barbershop. They watched the groom walk. “Ooo, Mr Groom!” “Hey! Handsome guy!” Soon, one of the cheers evolved into a full sentence: “Look how handsome you are!” “Sure I am!” The groom approved. His entire being smelled orange cologne. And his harsh blue suit was in perfect tune with his freshly trimmed goatee. “You know, you still have time!” Finally, a complex sentence! There were “only three hours”...

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“Tiffany's” by Farah F

Submitted to Contest #57

Writing a will is no funny business. There's the matter of who to leave what to, and who will be absolutely outraged at the fact that they are not included in the will. But I've chosen to disregard all that. I've been ticking off people for a long time, and I see no reason not to do so, even when I'm dead. I, Thomas Winsome, am so outrageously rich that I could write my will on the face of the moon in gold infused puffy paint homemade by the Queen of England herself, but alas, writing a will is a monotonous task, and I figured the last incre...

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“Coincidences... I don't believe in them” by Alexa K

Submitted to Contest #57

I spray my desk with kombucha as Jessica tells me I'm on the news. A bit dramatic reaction if I do say so myself. That's what I strive for anyway. I open up my own hologram computer and scroll past the flying pigs and endangered raccoon ads. Then I find it. It's me. I zoom in to clarify and find my middle school self. Luckily my skin was clear that day and I got my braces off so I look pretty cute with my french braid.The headline says " Genesis Quinn the predecessor of Bethany Quinn her grandmother?" Genesis Quinn is a 25-year-old living i...

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“Last Prince Standing” by Serenna Antoine

Submitted to Contest #57

Dear Family, I am writing this now because I don't know how much time I have left. If you're reading this, I am probably dead right now and you have finally found my will. I want you all to know that I love, every single one of you dearly, but that love has it's limits when it comes to power. So this will is specifically made to give whoever is worthy, the position of king. Now to my dear husband, you have been king since the stone ages, so I will not allow you to be king anymore. Let those wrinkles rest my love. And take it from me, you...

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“THE SANDWICH” by Michael Boquet

Submitted to Contest #57

"Hey Jon, if you started doing magic, we could call you sand-witch!""When you wake up in the morning, do you leave behind bed-crumbs?"Jon Montag wished he'd never taken Mr. Tate's History class. He'd had a choice between the regular senior History class and Mr. Tate's. The regular class focused on American history and was meant to be a continuation of the history they'd been learning in class over the last three years. Meanwhile, Mr. Tate taught World History. History had never been Jon's favorite subject. He thought it was stupid that ...

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“My Family Pushed Me” by Dwight Gabriel

Submitted to Contest #57

Tears rolled down his cheeks as he pinned down every single word on to the paper to finally complete the writing of his will. Writing this will was one nightmare that John dreaded to the latter but knew that he stood no choice but to write it anyway. The recent tragedic events in his life had such an effect on him that he considered it was best to write this will no sooner than later. The accidents, divorce, and his recent admission into the hospital for a major heart failure hastened the very process of writing this will. Of course, he knew...

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“An Unintended Consequence” by Harken Void

Submitted to Contest #57

If there ever was a man born with the perfect brain, then Hitoshi Handa had to be the one blessed with such a gift. A renowned scientist, humanitarian, environmentalist, multiple-times Nobel prize winner, author of many books, global speaker, and catalyst for meaningful changes in the world, Hitoshi put his brain to good use. Some said he was the gift of God himself, sent to Earth in the time of need to solve problems no one dared tackle. Others said he was a genius reborn, a culmination of the great minds from the past, such as Einstein, Ne...

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“Revenge is sweet” by Debbie Teague

Submitted to Contest #57

“Mr. Wilson, I’ve asked you to tea today to be a witness to my Last Will and Testament. You have always been our family’s lawyer and I hope will continue to be for many years to come. I have typed up my Will and would ask that you be the executor when I leave this earth.” James took off his starched, black, trench coat, laid it neatly on the chair, seated himself at my large oak table with velvet cushioned chairs, and read the sheet of paper I handed to him. Last Will and Testament of Rebecca Davenport dated Aug...

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“As Average as Lazurite” by Victoria Haneveer

Submitted to Contest #57

I pick up the expensive, surprisingly heavy fountain pen, remove the cap and hold it poised over my freshly printed will. My lawyer just left.This is no cheap pen. It belongs to my father, and he doesn’t yet know I swiped it. I admire the highly polished, wafer-thin lapis lazuli barrel and the delicate gold vermeil cap coating the sterling silver underneath. It looks too elegant to be between my clumsy un-manicured fingers.Did you know that lapis lazuli is technically a rock not a mineral? I don’t care what it is really. I love the bright bl...

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“Willing to die” by Hakin Edward

Submitted to Contest #57

The following document is the will of a murdered man. “My name is Ness Veingyari Third and, within the limits of these sheets, I shall determine what will be of my 27 billion dollars wealth. But first, permit me to tell the story of an old man who discovered the secret of life. It’s the usual, I was born on a farm, black and bastard son of the land’s lord and one of the servants. Since I could use my hands, they were not used to play nor learn violin, as I always heard his true son do from within their house; it was used to milk animals,...

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“The Pickle and the Bubble Machine” by Jill Davies

Submitted to Contest #57

You probably recognize me. If you don’t recognize my face, then you’ll definitely recognize my name, Ted Gaskins. I created of the Air Bubbler and won the Nobel Prize for doing it. I was Time’s most influential person two years in a row. You know me and you know my product. But I have to tell you something, it’s all a lie. The Air Bubbler has been touted as the biggest achievement in climate stabilization in all of human history, but it doesn’t do what everyone says it does. That activated charcoal complex that coats the bubble? Sure, it ...

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$50

Prize money

676

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 04, 2020 EST

Won by Iona Cottle 🏆

Title: Et Tu?

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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